The
original Dodge Viper was the definition of irresistible force in a
movable object -- a V-10 powered roadster that couldn't be beat in a
straight line but punished those who couldn't master it around a curve.
After a two-year hiatus driven by Chrysler's bankruptcy, the only V-10 American-built supercar has been reborn as the 2013 SRT Viper, and gifted with Ferrari-fighting levels of power and refinement. The fangs have grown sharper.
To a packed crowd at the New York Auto Show
preview, SRT chief Ralph Gilles drove not just a production Viper on
stage but a race version that will compete in the GT class of the
American LeMans series. Gilles, wearing a "Detroit" t-shirt, made clear
that the Viper wouldn't sell in huge numbers nor really matter to the
company's finances. "The Viper shows we still have a soul here at
Chrysler," Gilles says, adding that one colleague announced when the
Viper plan's won approval that "today, we are a car company again."
While the company considered using pieces of the Fiat-Ferrari
parts bin, Gilles and team chose instead to rework the internals of the
previous Viper, which has soldiered on for several years as a track
killer that was barely suitable for everyday driving. Engineers
redesigned the frame to raise its stiffness and lightness, the restyled
body uses mostly carbon-fiber panels, and the 8.4-liter V-10 was given a
brace of updates that not only raised its power by 40 hp to 640 hp and
600 ft.-lbs. of torque, but made the power more usable. The combination
of all such measures, Gilles says, creates a car that has a better
power-to-weight ratio than a Lamborghini Aventador and the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. (Fuel economy ratings are to be determined, but if you have to ask...)
But it's inside where the Viper breaks with
tradition most. Admitting that the previous Viper's interior was
considered a "joke" by competitors, Gilles said the new one was designed
to match them. The seats are built by the same supplier who sells them
to Ferrari; the dash includes two video screens. And for a car whose
owners reveled in the lack of electronic driving aids, the new Viper not
only comes with cruise control and stability control, but a launch
system to snap off consistent drag strip times. (The launch control can
be shut off, so that owners can turn the massive 355-ration Pirelli P
Zero tires to smoke upon demand.)
In one small change, the Viper will be sold
as two models; the GTS as a loaded version and a regular Viper with
different bodywork and fewer interior options. Chrysler didn't release
prices for the Viper, but the ZR1 Corvette and the Nissan GT-R now run about $100,000.
The
previous Viper still holds the record for the fastest lap around
Nürburgring of any production sports car. Given Chrysler almost sold off
the Viper in bankruptcy, it's a marvel the car exists again at all --
but the Chrysler SRT team seems ready to take any comers once again when
the Viper emerges this fall, if for no other reason than to show the
company's soul survived.
No comments:
Post a Comment